Jets: Targeting receiver in first round?

It was five years ago when the Jets last selected an offensive player in the first round of the NFL Draft. They traded up 12 spots to pick USC’s Mark Sanchez, whom they envisioned as a franchise quarterback.

We all know how that worked out. Sanchez still is in green, but now is a Philadelphia Eagle.

That offensive drought could end tonight when the draft gets underway. Although they signed productive Denver wideout Eric Decker during free agency, the Jets still need plenty of help at wide receiver.

Numerous reports have linked the Jets with LSU’s Odell Beckham Jr. But considering the Jets have the 18th pick in the first round, they likely would have to trade up to select him.

Certainly they have enough picks to swing a deal. The Jets enter tonight with 12 selections over the three-day event, although four of them are compensatory draft picks that cannot be traded. Three of the Jets compensatory picks are in the sixth round, and one is in the fourth. The Jets have other holes, especially at cornerback, and still need more depth at many other positions. It will be interesting to see if they are willing to sacrifice some of those picks to move up.

Although, to be fair, of the three veterans and two draft picks the Jets sent to Cleveland for the right to draft Sanchez, not one became a big-time player.

Beckham indicated to reporters at an NFL Draft event Wednesday in New York that he didn’t know which teams, including the Jets, were really interested. The Jets had him in for a pre-draft visit and have gotten a behind-the-scenes scouting report on him from new special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who previously held the same position at LSU.

The Jets also could use a tight end. The top prospect at that position is North Carolina’s Eric Ebron, who recently tweeted that he visited "New York" but has declined to say which team he spoke with, the Jets or the Giants. However, if the Jets wanted to pair Ebron with veteran tight end Jeff Cumberland, they’d likely have to move up to do it. He isn’t expected to last until the 18th selection.

The draft is considered by most experts to be especially deep at wideout, so another strategy the Jets could use is to select one or more wide receivers in later rounds. The most productive rookie receiver in 2013 was San Diego’s Keenan Allen, who had 71 catches. He was a third-round selection.

The Jets could choose to stay at 18 and select a defensive player. Likely candidates would be cornerbacks Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State and Kyle Fuller of Virginia Tech, both of whom have the necessary man-to-man coverage skills to start in coach Rex Ryan’s defense. The Jets have a vacancy despite drafting Alabama corner Dee Milliner ninth overall a year ago.

Veteran Antonio Cromartie wasn’t re-upped and eventually signed with Arizona, and the Jets didn’t sign a big-time veteran cornerback during free agency. Veteran Dimitri Patterson was signed, but he seems more like a stopgap possibility than a long-term solution. Kyle Wilson, the team’s first-round pick in 2010, has become a slot corner and isn’t looked upon as a potential starter outside.